For the second time in history, the Lusatian Mountains will welcome the best marathon bikers of Europe to compete in the Twentieth Anniversary MTB Marathon European Championships.
In its first edition in 2012, the championship was dominated by Czech riders. Kristián Hynek became the European Champion, followed by Pavel Boudný at the second position. The big favourite from Austria Alban Lakata took the bronze medal. Pia Sundstedt from Finland proved to have more strength and won the gold medal for herself, leaving Sally Bigham in second position.
A weekend of mountain bikes
Malevil Cup is one of the most prestigious MTB marathons in the Czech Republic that no one should miss. In recent years, Malevil Cup has hosted the Czech Championships XCM twice and has been included in UCI MTB Marathon Series several times.
The race attracts the best marathon mountain bikers and amateurs of all levels. The ability to compare their own forces and experiences with the competition offers many personal challenges.
The picturesque landscape and the difficulty of the track offer a great variety of emotions for competitors, and every MTB fan will find something appealing there.
The 23rd edition of Malevil Cup and UEC European Championships MTB Marathon will be held on 18 – 19 June 2022.
The race weekend starts with the Friday evening programme at the Dominican Square in Jablonné v Podještědí, where the European Championships will be launched and the main favorites for the medals will be introduced.
The Malevil Cup will be exceptionally held for the entire weekend to satisfy both amateur bikers and mountain bike elites. As usual, Saturday will belong to the amateurs that can choose from 100 km, 70 km, 50 km or 30 km routes. Sunday is reserved to the categories of Elite and Masters men and women.
European Championships Routes
The Malevil Cup routes offer the best of the Lusatian and Zittau Mountains. They include a mix of field and forest paths, steep climbs, stone and root downhills and exciting natural singletrails.
The Malevil Cup traditionally starts on the Square in Jablonné v Podještědí. The first attractive passage is already coming in the opening kilometers by passing the rock formation ‘Bohemian gate’ and going through natural singletrack to Hrádek nad Nisou. The jewel of the track is a the traditional passage through the spa town of Oybin and the challenge in the form of the most difficult climb on the top of the Hvozd, where the race is often decided. The passage around the dominant peak of Luž is challenging as well.
For the Men Elite and Masters categories within 49 years there is a 100 km route and an elevation of 2250 m. The track is demanding, but also entertaining, and enables us to see who is the best.
The Woman Elite race will be slightly shorter: it will measure 90 km, on which the competitors will have to climb a total altitude of more than 1980 meters.
Older riders of Masters Men and Women who attend the European championships will be able to choose a lighter version that will be “only” 70 km and the height difference will be 1550 height meters.
At the twentieth European Championships in MTB Marathon, a total of 17 sets of medals await their owners.
Need more information? Head to the event website.